Keltner list

The Keltner list is a systematic but non-numerical method for considering whether a baseball player is deserving of election to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.[1] It makes use of an inventory of questions (mostly yes-or-no format) regarding the merit of players relative to their peers. Enshrinement in the Hall of Fame is the highest honor in baseball, with only 236 players having been inducted as of 2012. Election to the Hall is also permanent. However, selection for the Hall is by election; no "cut-offs" or objective criteria exist (other than rules about how players become eligible for election).[2] It can therefore be difficult for voters and fans alike to determine which former players are deserving of the honor.

The Keltner list comprises 15 questions designed to aid in the thought process. Each question is designed to be relatively easy to answer.

Contents

Ken Keltner was a major-leaguethird baseman who compiled a .276 batting average, 163 home runs and 852 RBI in his career.[3] A timely hitter, the seven-time All-Star was a fabulous fielder known for going to his right.[4] He ended Joe DiMaggio's record hit streak at 56 on July 17, 1941 before a then-record night crowd (67,468) in Cleveland.[4] Keltner made two stops of DiMaggio line drives, one a brilliant backhanded stab.[4] According to baseball historian Bill James in the 1994 book, Whatever Happened to the Hall of Fame?, a movement briefly developed to elect Keltner to the Hall of Fame. James created the eponymous list in order to evaluate the qualifications of players who have not been elected to the Hall, but merit consideration. As a subjective method, the Keltner list is not designed to yield an undeniable answer about a player's worthiness; for instance, as James says, "You can't total up the score and say that everybody who is at eight or above should be in, or anything like that.[1]"

The list originally appeared in James' 1985 Baseball Abstract along with the anecdote of how he developed the list.

While the questions themselves were designed to be subjective, many of them call for quantitative answers. This is often done by comparing the player's statistics to those of his peers or contemporaries. These statistics can take the form of traditional baseball measures, such as batting average and home runs, or advanced measures, such as Win Shares or VORP. Furthermore, questions 7 and 8 are often answered using two more of James' innovations: Similarity Scores and Hall of Fame Standards, respectively.